UAE confirms $1 billion support for Pakistan

Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar says the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it will provide support of $1 billion to the South Asian nation.

“State Bank of Pakistan is now engaged for needful documentation for taking the said deposit from UAE authorities.”  Ishaq Dar said on Twitter.

The commitment is one of the requirements that the fund has said it needs to move ahead on a months-long delayed bailout package to shore up the country’s struggling economy.

The IMF’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva said the previous day the fund was also in talks with friendly countries of Pakistan to provide financial assurances so it can complete the programme.

Saudi Arabia last week had also told the IMF it will provide $2 billion in financing to Pakistan.

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Pakistan has less than a month’s worth of foreign exchange reserves and is awaiting a bailout package of $1.1 billion from the IMF that has been delayed since November over issues related to fiscal policy adjustments.

The IMF has also said it needs assurances that the balance of payments deficit is fully financed for the fiscal year ending in June.

Zainab Sa’id